Pune: Japan's JFE Shoji Trade Corporation plans to establish a steel processing center in India at Ranjangaon industry district in the suburbs of Pune city. The company will invest INR 685 million ( Approximately US$ 13 billion ) in setting up the new center.

JFE Shoji Steel India Private Limited is scheduled to start operations from July, 2012. The company expects to record sales of 20,000mt per year of steel materials, including electrical steel sheets, thin steel sheets, by 2014. Its target for 2012( The first fiscal year will have only six months) is 5,000 MT/year.

It is expected to employ around 47 people and will carry out processing and sales for electrical steel sheets. It will have facilities like Slitter line, Shearing line etc. The projected processing capacity is 34,000MT / year.

JFE Shoji decided to establish the steel processing center in Ranjangaon industry district to secure demand of steel sheets from manufacturers producing transformers and electric generators. JFE Shoji expects companies in this region to generate more demand for high grade electromagnetic steel sheets which is required for the energy sector.

According to the company the steel demand in India is expected to grow at 13 percent each year.

Currently, JFE Shoji is operating a total of fourteen steel processing centers, including five in China, two in Thai Land ,and one each in Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Mexico respectively. Once the center in India is set up, JFE Shoji will have the total of fifteen steel processing centers in foreign countries with this new establishment in India

JFE Shoji is also contemplating the sales cooperation for various steel materials produced by JSW in India as JFE Steel and JSW are proceeding for not only their capital tie-up but also technical cooperation for automotive steel sheets.